Burns and Penguin Sledding
by EOshipper2010
Summary: "You brought her?" "Nice to see you too, Mako. Now will someone please tell me why I've been kidnapped?" "You came willingly," Bolin weakly replied. - Oneshot. Very slight Korra/Mako. Rated T because there are a few swear words and I'm paranoid.


She doesn't know what's going on exactly. Bolin showed up during her air bending training and said he needed her help. She tried asking what was wrong, but he simply said, "There's no time for this." Then she was over Bolin's shoulder and he was carrying her toward Republic City. She could have fought back and easily gotten out of his grasp, but he probably would have been burned in the process and she didn't want to hurt him. Also, not that Korra would ever admit it, she was worried. It wasn't unusual for him to just show up, but something was off with Bolin. He seemed nervous; like he was about to get in trouble for something. For as long as she had known him, he had never once appeared nervous, not even before their matches. It seemed unnatural for him to act this way. That alone was enough to worry Korra.

They ran into Jinora on their was off the property. She seemed only slightly alarmed at the sight of Korra being hauled off the island. "Um... Going somewhere, Korra?"

"Apparently Bolin and I are headed to the city?" She struggled in his arms, trying to get a look at the little girl. She nearly kicked Bolin in the face.

"Hey!"

"Sorry! Can you just put me down? We'll get to the city faster if I'm walking anyway."

He set her down, but watched her carefully.

She bent over so she was as Jinora's level. "This is Bolin. He's the earth bender for the Fire Ferrets. We're just going to the city for a bit. Tell your dad for me?"

Jinora studied her carefully as if trying to figure out if she was lying. "Okay, I'll tell him, but you're going to tell me what all of this is about later." With one last calculating look, Jinora walked back toward the temple.

Rolling her eyes, Korra turned to Bolin. "So, where to?"

"You'll come with me?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "I... Okay. Let's go. We're heading toward training center."

They began walking toward the ferry. "Mako decide to hold another practice session or something?"

"Definitely something."

"Okay?" Korra responded slowly.

"Can we just hurry up and get there? Please?"

His nervousness stopped her from arguing.

* * *

Bolin was unnaturally silent during the trip to and through the city. Korra, following his lead, stayed quiet as well.

She almost made it all the way to their apartment before asking more questions. "Bolin, what's going on? Why are we here?" They were climbing the stairs that led to Bolin and Mako's apartment. "Is something wrong? Damn it, Bolin! What's wrong? And don't tell me it's nothing because I can tell something is worrying you!"

"You brought _her_?"

Korra spun around to see Mako sprawled out on a couch, his left arm covering his eyes. "Nice to see you too, Mako. Now will someone _please _tell me why I've been kidnapped?"

"You came willingly," Bolin weakly replied. Korra glared and Bolin made a vague gesture indicating Mako. "He's hurt."

"I'm fine. I just asked you to see if you could scrounge up something for pain. Instead, you brought a pain."

"Korra's not a pain. Besides, you never admit to being in pain." Bolin shifted his weight from foot to foot. "I'm crap with injuries and I know you. You'd never let me know just how hurt you really are. The fact that you even let me know you're hurt is...not good."

Korra glanced at the two now silent boys. Mako hadn't moved since they entered the apartment which _was _strange for him, and Bolin couldn't take his eyes off the floor. She sighed. "Bolin, why don't you head downstairs to train for a bit or something while I talk to this idiot." He nodded slightly and retreated down the stairs. Korra blew her bangs out of her eyes and turned to Mako. "Are you going to tell me how hurt you are or not?"

"Not."

"Your brother is worried." Silence. "I'd never seen him nervous before today. I think he's scared that you're going to be mad at him for bringing me here." More silence. "He only brought me here because he thought I could help."

"And can you?"

"Yes."

"How do you know that?"

"I have a trick."

"Trick?"

"Yep."

"You're not going to tell me more than that are you." It was Korra's turn to be silent. "Fine." He paused. "Did Bolin really try kidnapping you?"

She shrugged. "He threw me over his should and seemed to be planning on carrying me all the way here."

"Right."

"I convinced him it'd be faster if I walked instead."

"Of course you did."

She walked over to the couch where Mako still remained motionless except for his steady breathing and talking. "Come on, tough guy. Let me see what happened."

He slowly pulled his left arm away from his eyes and carefully sat up. Korra pretended she didn't see him wince when he moved his arm. He eased onto one side of the couch, leaving the other side open for Korra. She sat down and looked at him expectantly. He avoided her eyes. "I have a burn."

"Where?" She thought she knew, but figured she better ask just in case.

"Left arm."

She waited, but Mako didn't seem to get the hint. "Well?" Still not getting the hint, she continued, "Let me see it, Mako."

"It's pretty bad."

"I'm sure I can handle it." Mimicking his brother, Mako's eyes wouldn't leave the floor. He mumbled something, but it was too quiet for Korra to hear. "What was that?"

Color rose in his cheeks. "I don't think I can move my arm enough to get my shirt off."

"Oh." Korra paused. "Do you have scissors anywhere?" He told her where to locate them.

When she returned, armed with the scissors, he eyed her warily. "Not gonna cut me open, are you?"

She pretended he hadn't said anything. "I'm going to try to cut the sleeve off, but, if the fabric is stuck to your burn, it'll probably still hurt." He nodded. "Ready?"

"Let's just get this over with."

Korra snipped the edges of the sleeve and slowly pulled the fabric down toward his wrist. When it was down to a few inches above his elbow, Mako let out a small hiss of pain. Korra's eyes flashed to his face, but he already had an unreadable expression back on his face. Deciding it would be better to get the sleeve away from the burn quickly, she yanked his sleeve the rest of the way off. Mako jumped and swore loudly.

"I'm sorry!" Korra's hand was on his shoulder before she realized she had moved. "It would have been worse if I had moved slowly." He said nothing and she started to worry. "Mako?"

"Yeah?" He replied gruffly.

"You okay?"

He grimaced. "Give me a little warning next time."

She nodded in reply and took a closer look at his burn. It was on the inside of his left arm and started about two inches about two inches below the inside of his elbow and ended a couple inches above it. She stood and walked to the sink to fill a glass with water.

Mako's eyes followed her. "What? Going to pass out on me? I thought you said you could handle this."

"I can." She set the glass of water on the floor at their feet and bent the water to fit her right like a glove. She took his left hand with hers and squeezed gently. "Just trust me and try to stay still, okay?" Mako watched her carefully while she moved her right hand and placed it directly onto his burn. He resisted the urge to jerk away from her. You weren't supposed to touch burns like that! The water around her hand started glowing slightly and, suddenly, his arm didn't hurt anymore. She removed her hand and he looked at his own arm. There was no sign of the burn at all.

"How...?"

His shocked look made her laugh. "I told you I had a trick."

Mako flexed his arm to avoid gaping at her. Bolin chose that moment to reappear. "Talk any sense into him?" Bolin's eyes traveled from Korra laughing to Mako looking very confused to Mako's arm. "How...?"

"That's what I said."

Korra grinned at the both of them. "Some water benders have healing powers. Katara, Tenzin's mother, has them. She realized I had them too after I cut my hand open penguin sledding once when I was five. I ran back to the village. Someone went to get Katara, but, while I was waiting, I stuck my hand in a puddle thinking it would help with the pain." She smiled at the memory. "I was right. Just not in the way I expected. All the adults were confused. One second, my hand's bleeding everywhere. The next second, I'm fine and wanting to get back to the penguins. Katara recognized my gift for what it was. As I grew, she taught me everything she knew about healing."

Bolin looked confused. "Penguin sledding?"

Mako hit his palm to his forehead. "The girl tells you she can heal people with water, and you're focusing on penguins?"

Korra responded as if Mako hadn't spoken. "Yeah! It's so much fun and it's practically a tradition at my village. You should visit sometime and I can take you sledding!"

"Yeah!"

"Why do I hang out with you two again?"

Korra stuck her tongue out at him. "Because he's your brother and I can fix your injuries with water."

"Right. How could I forget?"

Bolin laughed. "I'm gonna head back downstairs for more training. Feel free to join."

Once alone again, Mako turned to Korra. Noticing his serious expression, Korra's smile slipped off her face. "Mako?"

"Thank you. I... I don't like having to ask for help and it's not always easy for me to accept help even when it's offered so just... Thanks."

Startled by his admission, she stumbled for words. "You don't have to thank me. I mean, we're friends, right? Why wouldn't I help you? It was nothing."

"It wasn't nothing."

"We could go back and forth on this all night you realize."

Mako grinned suddenly. "We're both too damn stubborn for our own good."

She laughed. "Yeah, probably." Korra returned his grin. "I should probably get back before Tenzin has a fit." She rose. "I'm glad I was able to help."

"Yeah, me too."

Right before heading down the stairs, she turned back to him, "One more thing: Try not to get anymore burns, okay, hot stuff?"

He threw a pillow at her retreating back as her laugh echoed into the room.

* * *

**AN: This is my first Legend of Korra fic so hopefully you liked it! Reviews would be absolutely lovely. 3**


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